Anwar al-Sadat, Political Leader and Third President of Egypt
Anwar al-Sadat was born on December 25 in 1918 to a family of thirteen children. He grew up in Mit Abul Kom among average villagers of Egypt.
1936, when the British agreed to create a military school in Egypt, Sadat was one of the first students. He learned about math, science, and how to analyze battles. After graduating the government posted him to an outpost far away. He met Gamal Abdel Nasser there, starting a political association to presidency. At the outpost Sadat, Nasser, and other young officers created a revolutionary group whose goal was to overthrow the British. The commitment to the revolution caused Sadat to be thrown into jail twice. On his second time he taught himself English and French. He contacted Nasser while in prison and learned that their revolutionary movement had grown.
On July 23, 1952, Sadat was Nasser's lieutenant and public relations minister. Nasser gave Sadat the task of overseeing the abdication of King Farouk. Nasser died on September 29, 1970 and Sadat succeded Nasser. His first challenge of the international scene was when he openly offered the Israelis a peace treaty for the return of the Sinai Islands. The Soviets proved to be unreliable allies and ingnored Sadat's requests for more military support. Sadat expelled the Soviets boldly.
Sadat plotted to recapture the Egyptian Sinai if the Israelis continued to refuse Egypt's peace initiative. On October 6, 1973, he ordered the Egyptian army to cross the Suez and into the Sinai and forced the Israeli army into the desert.
In 1977, Sadat, in a speech to the Egyptian parliment, he stated that he was willing to go anywhere to negotiate peace with the Israelis, even to the Israeli parliment. The Israelis invited him to their parliment, where Sadat gave a speech that created a new momentum for peace.
In 1980-1981, Sadat made desperate gambles to react to these new internal problems. He enacted laws outlawing protest, declared that the Shari'a would be the base for the Egyptian law, and negotiated loans to help improve everyday life. Sadat was assassinated on October 6, 1981, while in a military review celebrating the success of crossing the Suez in 1973.
Biography of Muhammad al Sadat- http://obitnow.com/flanceview3.cfm?user=littlev123
Biography of Sa'ad Zaghlul- http://littlev123.glogster.com/saad-zaghlul-biography/
Other Impotant Figures of Egypt:
Bibliography